Tibet has become warmer and wetter, registering a steady increase in the average temperatures in the last three and half decades due to global warming which is having an adverse impact on its glaciers, according to an official report released on Sunday. The report was jointly released by the climate centre of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and the regional remote sensing applications research centre.

Watch what else is making news

The report said Tibet, regarded as the roof of the world, is registering higher temperatures every decade.

The average temperature in Tibet during the flood season (from May to September) has seen a significant increase from 1981 to 2016, up 0.3 degrees Celsius every decade on average, while precipitation in the region during the same period has grown 10.1 mm every decade on average, it said.

The report also stated that the average temperature in Tibet during the flood season in 2016 was 11.9 degrees Celsius, 0.44 degrees higher than that in normal years while the average precipitation was 445.1 mm, 62.4 mm more than that in normal years.

Sources with the climate centre said Tibet was becoming warmer and wetter due to global warming, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Experts believe climate change is a double-edged sword for the region.

With a warmer and wetter climate, the region will be covered with more vegetation and have a more favourable temperature for agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism in the short term. However, the changing climate will result in receding glaciers and melting permafrost in the long run.